Stars and Spinach
by Jemi Gr
Summary: [CATS fic] The beginning of the relationship between Mistoffelees and Electra, as seen through the eyes of one over-dramatic young brown queen.
1. Part One

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Stars and Spinach

jemi gr

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Author's Notes: This is what happens when you stop thinking and just write. Part two coming as soon as I decide to type it up. All relevant disclaimers apply.

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Part One:

Darkness.

Honestly, there are just some cats you can't trust.

Me? Well, you can trust me. I'm honest, most of the time - and I get in trouble for it a lot - but at least you know I'll never steal your prized possessions and that I'll always tell you if you've got a bit of spinach in your teeth.

Mistoffelees, on the other hand, is a different story.

Allow me to explain.

The first day he arrived at the Junkyard, he sauntered in like he owned the place. He came right up to me for reasons I can't fathom. Mostly when toms have the guts to waltz in here and walk right up to a queen they don't know it's "beautiful" Victoria or "adorable" Jemima. The "pretty" ones, y'know? The "attractive" ones, also known as "not me".

But Mistoffelees came right up to me -right up to me! - and said "Hello."

I blinked. Was he talking to me? "Uh hi," I replied.

"I'm Mistoffelees," he continued. I stared at him. His fur seemed to glisten in the sunlight. I barely heard him speak at all. He either didn't notice or ignored my rude gawking and went on. "And you are?"

"Electra," I breathed. He smiled, and from that moment on I was head over heels in love with him.

It sounds corny, I know. I tried for hours when writing this to make is sound not corny, but I couldn't, because the truth is it **was **corny. And if it wasn't, my dumb hormonal teenage mind **made **it corny because I was looking for some drama and romance in my dumb, dry life.

No one else really liked him all that much. Probably because they thought he wasn't shy enough for a new tom. They thought he was too friendly. I don't get that. I like friendly cats because then they talk to me. I don't have to talk to them. The only problem is, I'm so shy that I tend to blend into things, like walls and furniture and stuff. All the friendly cats look right over me and all the other shy cats are too shy to come up and talk to me, and vice versa. I was quite invisible to nearly everyone.

But not Mistoffelees and to this day I still don't know why. We became best friends immediately.

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"He's just so so obnoxious," whined Victoria one day at our weekly Queen's Club' meeting. No toms allowed, just us young female kits: myself, Victoria, Jemima, Rumpelteazer, and Etcetera. Cassandra used to come, but then she got too cool' for us. She wasn't missed.

No one needed to ask Victoria who she was talking about. We all knew: Mistoffelees. Always Mistoffelees. For someone who hated the tom so much, she sure seemed to talk about him a lot.

Jemima nodded in agreement to Victoria's statement, but no one else offered any response. Etcetera looked asleep, Rumpelteazer was busy fiddling with her pearls, and I was picking some dirt out from underneath my claws. There was a surprising amount of it, if I recall, but that's beyond the point.

In a huff, Victoria continued angrily, "I think he's got a huge case of Nap-Pole-On-Me-Ism."

No response.

She ruffled her fur impatiently. "Doesn't anyone want to know what that is?"

There was silence. Finally, Rumpelteazer yawned and said, "Not really, Vic."

Etcetera snorted with laughter and I tried to suppress a fit of giggles. Jemima looked torn between indignation and amusement, and Victoria was just pissed.

"Fine. I don't care. I'm going to tell you anyway," she declared. "Nap-Pole-On-Me-Ism is when you're really scrawny and skinny and whatnot and you act like a big obnoxious jerk to make up for it."

"He's not an obnoxious jerk!" I cried. "He's just trying to be nice, just trying to, you know, fit in! Make some friends!"

"Yeah, chill out, Vic," said Etcetera lazily.

"Uh, Victoria, I think you're talking about 'Napoleonism'," said Jemima timidly.

"Nuh-uh," replied Victoria defiantly. "My human's a psychologist, I know these things."

"If ya human's a psychologis', why ain't 'e cured you yet?" asked Rumpelteazer innocently. "'E mus' no' be very goo'."

Victoria scowled very heavily and stalked out of the washing machine where we held the club meetings. Etcetera smirked as she watched the white queen disappear into the distance.

"You guys wanna know why she won't shut up about Misto?" she asked casually, trying hard to hide the grin on her face. "And why she's been so temperamental lately?"

Jemima, Rumpelteazer, and I all nodded our heads eagerly and leaned forward a little bit.

"It's because she likes him!" Etcetera declared triumphantly. She leaned back with a satisfied smile.

"Are you serious?" whispered Jemima.

Etcetera nodded. "Oh yeah. She's got to!"

"You're crazy," I said. "She hates him!"

"No, actu'ly, Oi thin' Etcy's gotta point," said Rumpelteazer slowly. "If she really hated 'im, she woul' shut up 'bout 'im once in a while!"

I shook my head in disbelief. If Victoria liked Mistoffelees, it would be all over. He'd ditch me for her in an instant. When I left the washing machine, I immediately started off in search of Misto before my entire fragile teenage world collapsed.

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I didn't find him until later that night. Much later, in fact: the sky was already dotted with millions of stars before I found him on top of a junkpile, basking in the light of the Jellicle Moon. He looked so picturesque, up there all by himself, one tiny black kitten against such a magical background. I approached him cautiously, somewhat afraid of breaking the spell that seemed to surround the scene.

"Hey," I whispered.

He didn't need to turn around and face me; he knew who it was. "Hi," he quietly responded.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked him.

"Looking at the stars."

"Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know I like them."

"Oh. Why?"

"Because they're I don't know" he stopped and sighed. "Magical."

I took a moment to examine the vast dark sky and the thousands of tiny pinpricks of light smiling down on us. "Yeah they are."

We sat like that, in kind of an awkward silence, until I finally got brave and cleared my throat. "Um Misto?"

He tilted his head towards me a bit. "Yeah?"

"Umm Etcy and Teazer think uh they think that Victoria um likes you." I studied him closely for a reaction.

"Do they" he mused. "Well, she certainly doesn't act like it."

"I know," I muttered under my breath. "She's always talking about how obnoxious and over-friendly you are, it makes me wanna"

I never finished the sentence, because something happened to Mistoffelees. His head dropped, and his shoulders sagged, and I knew in an instant I'd said too much.

"She thinks I'm obnoxious?" he said timidly.

"Oh, Misto, I wasn't-"

"I was just trying to be nice, you know?" he went on, ignoring the fact that he had interrupted me. "Try to make friends? I told myself when I came here that the shy, timid Mistoffelees would have to go, so I tried to be nice and friendly and this is what I get. The one queen in the Junkyard who I've been trying to get to like me think I'm an obnoxious jerk. Thank you, Everlasting Cat, for making my life so simple."

"You do like her, then?" I asked quietly, not wanting to believe I had heard him correctly.

"Of course I like her, Leccy, she's gorgeous!" he exclaimed. "All right, you probably don't understand where I'm coming from with that, but try this: she's funny, she's interesting, she's cultured

_She's also selfish, ungrateful, and a brat! _my mind added, but I knew he was right. Victoria was sometimes a pain in all our behinds, but who wasn't? She really was a great cat and a great friend when she wanted to be. I sighed.

"If it counts for anything, Misto, I like you just the way you are," I told him gently."

"Thanks, Leech," he replied. After a moment's pause, he added, "Well, I think I'm gonna turn in. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. See you," I said, trying vainly not to cry as he hopped from the junkpile. I looked up to the stars for help, but they told me nothing. Stupid stars. Stupid Mistoffelees.

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"That's the problem with toms, you just can't trust them," Etcetera told me the next day after I had related my tale to her. "You can't trust that they have half a clue what you're talking about. You can't trust that they won't grab your heart and - SNAP! - break it in two."

I nodded glumly and kept plodding along at her side.

"Toms are such morons," continued Etcetera. "Like one time, me and Tumble went out after dinner, and we played around in the snow and had a really fun time. And then, when we were saying goodnight, he told me that I had a piece of spinach stuck in my teeth from dinner. From dinner! We'd been out for at least three hours and he didn't bother to tell me! Only a tom, I'm telling you, only a tom."

But that was just the thing: Mistoffelees wasn't "only a tom." He was well magical. Like the stars. Something about him seemed to glisten. Like the stars. There was something about him always being there that was comforting in an odd kind of way like the stars.

I went home that night and cried. It was cloudy.

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A little end of part author's note: Feedback, please? I don't usually write in 1st person and I'm anxious to know how I pulled it off.

-jemi


	2. Part Two

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VERY IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE: I /detest/ this chapter. You heard me, I detest it. I wrote about five endings for it, none of which I really liked. This is the one I like the best, and since I showed it to Jessie and she seemed to like it this is the one I'm posting. Please tell me if I should rewrite or not, because it really all comes down to your opinions.

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Author's Note of Somewhat Less Importance: This is directed at ShadowJellicle, but is somewhat important to everyone. Were you unaware that the story wasn't over at the end of the last part? It **is** a Misto/Leccy story. And I know Victoria sounds like the usual snobby white cat - I did it on purpose. Here's why: (warning: rant ahead) The story is from Electra's point of view, and it is being told after the events being described already took place. Since Electra is not perfect and can not remember everything exactly as it happened, she is giving it her own spin, so to speak, that is to say making herself the better cat in the Electra vs. Victoria showdown. It's important to remember when reading this story that this is **not** how it happened - this is how **Electra** says it happened. I'm sure if Victoria were telling the story, it would be a lot different - Electra would probably end up the snob and she, Victoria, the victim.

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(That ended up a lot longer than I intended. Please pardon my long-windedness and enjoy Part Two.)

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Part Two.

The filling of the.

The next day, Mistoffelees and Victoria were going out.

Nobody needed to tell me, I just knew. I woke up and it slapped me in the face. "Mistoffelees asked Victoria out this morning and she said yes." It was just there. What a great way to start the morning.

I was right, too. The second I reached the Junkyard I got slapped again, this time by a visual. Mistoffelees and Victoria walking paw in paw. Mistoffelees and Victoria whispering to each other in low voices. Mistoffelees and Victoria giggling like Etcetera on catnip. Victoria leaning in and giving my Mistoffelees a sweet little kiss on the cheek.

And there it was. The third slap.

**My **Mistoffelees? **_MY_** Mistoffelees?!? That was it, then. I did love him, or at least felt for him the angsty teen equivalent of love. I had always known I liked him, of course, but I never really admitted it to myself. no, that's not right. Never really **convinced** myself of it, probably because I wasn't sure what it was like to be in love with someone, so I didn't know if what I felt was love or constipation. But I knew now. I loved my Mistoffelees.

Three slaps, you're out, I guess. Goodbye, Misto.

but then I told myself, "Self, Victoria can have Mistoffelees if she wants. Fine. But she's gonna have to pay for him. No one takes away my best friend and second-favorite eye candy for free!"

From that moment on, Sensitive Electra died and Cruel and Heartless Electra roamed free in my blood. I felt vicious.

I waltzed over to the two of them, a smirk on my face and sarcasm running through my veins. "So, Victoria, I didn't know dating toms you think are obnoxious is in right now."

Victoria responded simply, "It's not."

"Oh? Then what's the deal with that little furball on your arm, there?" I said smoothly.

"Who are you calling little?" cried Mistoffelees. I ignored him.

"Wasn't it just two days ago you were whining about what a brat he is?" I asked Victoria.

"Honestly, Electra, you're so dim!" shouted Victoria. "I only said that because I wanted an excuse to talk about him. I only said that because I thought he was adorable."

"You think I'm adorable?" Mistoffelees asked her.

"Well yeah," she said quietly.

He smiled. "I think you're adorable too."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I'm going to be sick."

They ignored me, and shared a tiny kiss. A tiny kiss that was well _interrupted_.

"Ewww!" shrieked Victoria, jumping up. "Look what you did! It's going to take me forever to get cleaned up!"

I wanted to say 'can't say I didn't warn you', but I was afraid that more of my breakfast would surface instead of the words.

Mistoffelees calmly ignored the regurgitated salmon all over him and walked over to me as Victoria ran away sobbing. "You alright?" he asked me.

My stomach seemed somewhat under control now, so I tentatively answered, "Yes and no"

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I looked at him. "Misto I know this is gonna sound strange, but you can't go out with Victoria anymore."

"Why not?" he asked, narrowing his large brown eyes.

"Because well because you just can't!" I cried.

He huffed. "Look, Electra, I don't know what your problem is, but I have a date with Victoria tonight and I intend to keep it!" He turned to walk away.

"I like you!" I blurted out. "For Heaviside's sake, Misto, can't you tell? I like you!"

There. It was out. My confession lay open between us. Ever so slowly, Mistoffelees turned around and fixed his brown, brown eyes on me.

"I'm sorry, Electra," he murmured, "but you can't always get your way."

With that, he turned and walked away, leading me alone, fighting back tears, and covered in my own barf.

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The stars were bright that night, proving once and for all that stars are dumb. I was in no mood to see millions of little dots smiling down on me, twinkling without a care in the universe. I was in no mood to think about how Mistoffelees and Victoria were probably sharing another kiss in their warm, soft light.

"Electra?" said a voice behind me.

Or not.

"Vic?" I replied, puzzled. What was she doing here? "Your date over already?" I meant it to sound bitter, but it didn't come out that way.

She nodded glumly. "I messed up, Leccy, I messed up big time."

"What'd you do?"

"I went out with tom of your dreams."

I sighed. "Look, Vicki, Mistoffelees is not my 'property' or anything. You're free to go out with whoever you want."

"Yeah, I am," she said, "but that doesn't mean I should."

"I was a jerk, Vic, and I'm sorry about that. I'm also sorry I you know showed you my breakfast this morning."

She laughed, which was surprising. "Apology accepted, on one condition."

"Anything."

"That you go find Misto and talk to him right now."

I shook my head. "Anything but that."

She laughed again. "Electra, he likes you. He likes you! Go talk to him!"

I hesitated. "You sure you're alright with it?"

"Of course!" she answered without missing a beat. "I mean, they'll be billions of other toms for me. But you you gotta take 'em when they come!"

"Vic!" I cried in mock indignation.

We sat in a thoughtful silence for a few minutes before she finally said "Well? Are you going or not?"

"Yeah," I replied slowly. "Yeah, I'll go. Tomorrow."

"No, not tomorrow! Tonight!"

"No, not tonight. Tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to spend some time with one of my best friends."

I grinned at her, and she grinned back.

Victoria could be a pain sometimes, but in the end you couldn't help but love her. I could see why Mistoffelees liked her so much.

What I couldn't see was how on earth he could ever like me, especially after everything I'd done.

But there would be time to answer to that question, and many more, later. Tomorrow I'd talk to my Mistoffelees.

There it was again.

My Mistoffelees.

"I like the sound of that," I muttered.

"Like the sound of what?" asked Victoria.

"Nothing."

"Oh. Okay."

"Vic?"

"Yeah?"

"He really likes me?"

She smiled. "Yeah."

"He told you?"

"Uh-huh."

I smiled as well. Toms! Just when you think you've got them figured out, they surprise you. I suppose, then, that Etcetera's right - you can't trust any of them. Especially Mistoffelees.

Especially **my** Mistoffelees.

Corny, I know, but in a way just right.

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fin.


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